Sex.com Domain Thief Struck Again

Joanna Glasner
09.05.02

The man who once claimed ownership of the domain name Sex.com has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to reconsider his case.

In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco curtly tossed out the appeal by Steven Michael Cohen, the former operator of the Sex.com site, citing his decision to flee the country to avoid criminal prosecution.

"In light of Cohen's status as a fugitive from justice and his egregious abuse of the litigation process, we exercise our discretion to dismiss his appeal," a three-judge panel wrote in the ruling, a copy of which was obtained from the current owner of Sex.com.

Cohen filed the appeal in hopes of quashing a $65 million judgment handed down against him last year for using a forged letter to steal the valuable domain from its original owner, Gary Kremen. In previous court filings, Cohen claimed the judgment was too large and rendered him unable to afford basic necessities.

Kremen said the court's latest decision was not surprising, particularly considering the fact that Cohen didn't show up for the hearing.

"It shows sometimes justice prevails," Kremen said.

In dismissing Cohen's appeal, the appellate judges cited the "fugitive disentitlement doctrine," which stipulates that individuals may begin procedures to recoup their confiscated property from the government only when they return to this country to face criminal charges.

Because Cohen did not appear in court for hearings in the Sex.com dispute, claiming he was under house arrest in Mexico, the judges determined he did not have the right to proceed with his appeal.

The judges' decision wraps up only part of a complex appeal pending in the Sex.com dispute. The court also heard oral arguments last month in a dispute between the domain name registry Network Solutions and Kremen, the current owner of the Sex.com domain.

Kremen is appealing a lower court's decision that Network Solutions, now owned by VeriSign, should not be held financially liable for wrongly transferring the Sex.com domain to Cohen.